By: Megan Aldworth
One
of the most frustrating things about driving in the winter, is when the car
wind-shield gets too fogged to see out of and how it takes so long to defrost.
But imagine never being able to defrost the windshield and having to deal with
a constant blurring of the vision, that is what more than 20 million people worldwide
have to deal with. This clouding of the vision is caused by a build up of
proteins in the eye lens, called a cataract. In a normal lens, proteins are
folded methodically in a neat way. But, in some cases these proteins can build
up and produce clouding of the vision, caused by clumps of proteins called
amyloids. These amyloids can occur long before they cause visual impairment.
Most cataracts are removed through
surgery, which can be expensive and painful. However, researchers have
discovered a chemical compound that can “melt” cataracts away. This chemical would
be administered to the cataract through the form of eye drops. Discovered by a
team of scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, this
chemical called compound 29, would target amyloids and breakdown the build-up
of proteins.
This method has yet to make it to
human trials, but has been tested on mice with cataracts. Mice were given drops
of compound 29 in their right eye and a placebo, or a non active dosage, drop
in their left. This treatment persisted for six weeks, three times a week. It
was discovered through the use of a special lamp used to detect cataracts, that
the drops dissolved many of the amyloids.
The leading researchers on compound
29, for that they will begin testing on humans within the next two years. But,
the use of these droplets would not only help humans, many dogs and other
animals would benefit greatly from treatment administered in the form of eye
droplets. Being that cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, an
easier form of treatment would help many people who suffer from this disease.
Emily Matchar.
"This Chemical Compound Could Melt Away Cataracts." Smithsonian. Web.
14 Feb. 2016.
Image 1. "Cataracts:
Causes, Symptoms and Treatments - Healthy Food Elements." Healthy Food
Elements. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
Image 2. "Clearing
Cataracts with Eye Drops." University of California. 2015. Web. 14 Feb.
2016.
This is an interesting post! I never really knew how cataracts worked, and your introduction gave a cool comparison to driving in the winter with fogged up windows. I'm glad that scientists are working to find a solution to cataracts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments! Cataracts are quite interesting and affect many people worldwide, so understanding them is helpful!
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